


Tobi, Obito and the artist

by SweetAlphaChild



Category: Naruto
Genre: About Deidara's unbelievable pain threshold, And about the start of their partnership in the Akatsuki, Character Study, M/M, Some Humor, Some headcanons I didn't know where to dump, like pre pre pre kind of pre, post Sasori's death, pre-obidei, pre-tobidei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-06 22:11:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18397352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetAlphaChild/pseuds/SweetAlphaChild
Summary: Deidara is infuriatingly reluctant to notice that world is hell. Nobody else has ever gotten under Obito's skin like he does and in the middle of his internal hissy fit, old unresolved traumas seep through Tobi, leaving a question mark in Deidara's mind.





	Tobi, Obito and the artist

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, let's appreciate the fact that Deidara had two arms ripped off and he still had the energy to jump around strangling people with his legs. Also during his fight against Sasuke, his arms were pierced by giant shuriken and he kept fighting as if nothing. Deidara is so cool. 
> 
> This is a oneshot I wrote two years ago, and decided to translate now.

Deidara had zero reasons to be in a good mood.

No. Not even for having captured that Sunagakure jinchuuriki by himself, given the laughable amount of recognition he was getting for such achievement. Those sarcastic thoughts were difficult to avoid after having managed to get out alive from an ambush set up by several Konoha ninjas and no one asked him whether he was fine or not.

The answer to the hypothetical question, however, would have been no. He wasn't fine. It would have cheered him up a bit to have succeeded on strangling Tobi, but at the limit of his strength as he was, Zetsu's annoying errand boy had somehow managed to free himself.

There he was, in front of him and carrying his valuable arms. Deidara felt a nauseating desire to kill him every time he saw the useless fuckwit poking the tongues that fell limp at one side of the hand-mouths ajar.

"Stop doing that, hm!" he screamed.

Hadn't he been holding his arms, Deidara would have indulged his vicious urge to kick his ass. Both Tobi and Zetsu looked back.

"I was just trying to cheer them up, Deidara! They look sad!"

"My hands aren't toys! They're my means to bring my art to reality, treat them properly!"

"Think that it could be worse. If I didn't take them, Zetsu would have eaten them already."

The aforementioned stared at him.

"Even though those arms smell delicious, the _boss_ wouldn't like to see me eating Deidara's ability to create bombs," white Zetsu replied, his tone hurt.

It seemed to Deidara that he put an unusual emphasis on the word 'boss', but his fatigued brain wasn't planning to analyze it.

"Stop talking nonsense. Both of you," black Zetsu complained.

Tobi shrugged with a muffled sigh.

"Fine. But just because I plan for Deidara-senpai and I to be Akatsuki's number one couple, and for that he needs his arms."

Deidara could even find it funny. After coming out alive of that shitty situation, maybe having a good laugh was what he needed. Tobi talked nonsense that was true, but he was funny in his own way.

"You in the Akatsuki. I wouldn't start calling me senpai so soon, if I was you. How are you so sure that Pein-sama is going to accept you?"

Tobi released an arm to show him his hand. Deidara lost his smile. In is gloved left thumb, was the ring with the 玉 symbol on purple background. The vision left an unpleasant sensation in his body. Long ago, he had a conversation with Sasori about their rings. His deceased partner mentioned he couldn't have gotten a better ring. Its symbol appeared on the shôgi piece called 'the challenger king'. Too suitable for someone like Akasuna no Sasori, with a vast army of powerful warriors at the mercy of his puppetry skills and his network of spies in every corner of the continent, faithful to him through his acquired mind control techniques.

He looked back at Tobi's mask, suddenly aware of how big the king title of the jeweled general looked on his puny ass.

"Are you so happy to be partners with me that you're speechless, Deidara-senpai?"

"Nevermind. Call me whatever you want but don't get yourself too excited, hm."

As if he hadn't heard the last part of his sentence, Tobi gave a pathetic and shrill cry of joy.

"Thanks for the encouragement, senpai-to-be! Pein-sama is a wise man, he'll see how good team we make and he will give us his blessing."

Annoyed all of a sudden by the prospect of babysitting Zetsu's errand boy, Deidara gritted his teeth. No. It wasn't going to happen, not in a million years.

"Akatsuki just lost one of its most valuable resources," Deidara replied, not too worried about hurting the idiot's feelings. "What do you have to offer?"

* * *

 

"I can bake the best chocolate chip cookies," Tobi answered, raising his index finger in the air. "So delicious that when Pein-sama tastes them, he'll let me join."

If he couldn't distract himself from his toxic thoughts in a different way, Obito would focus on blurting out as much nonsense as possible.

"Do you have experience in killing?" Deidara asked.

Obito faked a hesitant and nervous body language.

"Hmm... Let me think..."

"I knew it. You have nothing, hm. Do you think Akatsuki's goal is to move into the bakery sector?"

Arrogant kid. Obito would start shaking with rage soon, at that rate.

"Killing time! I'm an ace at killing time, you'll never get bored when you're with me, senpai-to-be. Surely you got bored a lot being with Sasori, he didn't look like the most fun person to be around. How do you think they let him in?"

Obito wasn't quite sure whether his irritability rooted on the fact that the first vacancy in the organization they had in a while was with the member he loathed most, or on seeing him so carefree after losing the tools for his art and his partner all in the same day. The initial satisfaction of finding him with no arms had already vanished. Almost from the beginning and being aware that Deidara was powerful and useful to his Tsuki no Me project, Obito had fantasized about erasing that confident smile from his face forever.

Yes, the world was hell and it made his blood boil every time he crossed paths with someone who didn't seem to have noticed that detail, or that the cruel life hadn't treated them so badly as to make it obvious. Yet.

Now Sasori was gone, and his death had been useless. It didn't even fulfill that childish fantasy of his. Deidara was right, Akatsuki had just lost one of its most valuable resources and Obito seemed to be the most upset about the loss.

He cheered himself up thinking that perhaps Deidara hadn't fully assimilated it and in a few hours, reality would start settling in his head. Only to feel a renewed outburst of resentment when he observed the limp arms he carried and how both tongues wobbled with each of his steps. He wished more than ever to get out of his Tobi act and become Madara again, to pass those arms to Zetsu so they could have a snack while he kicked Deidara out of the organization for having outlived his usefulness.

He wouldn't kill him. He would let him live stripped of his beloved art. He would protect him from bounty hunters and ANBU only to prolong his despair. Because life, in the end, always took off the mask. Witnessing this happening again and again was one of the few joys that Obito allowed himself. But Deidara not only refused to see it, he didn't seem to care about something as tragic as the loss of what he enjoyed most in life or his partner's death.

Deidara was worse than trash. Those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.

Obito stopped, thinking of the meaningless phrase he had so firmly believed in once. The desperate attempt to have one more reason to feel resentful toward Deidara had led him to unearth the naïve philosophy of his old self. He conjured all his willpower before the unbearable bitterness of his own hatred led him to do something foolish.

"Is something the matter, Tobi?" black Zetsu said.

"Huh, well... I'm just... So sad right now. I'm a very mean partner for my senpai-to-be. I just remembered he's injured, he has lost a lot of blood and the stumps must hurt a lot. Could we rest for a bit?"

And why wasn't he doubled up in pain on the floor?

"Nothing more than a scratch, hm. And we aren't too far away from the headquarters, I'd like to arrive as soon as possible so I can have my arms stitched back, eat and rest."

White Zetsu laughed.

"Wow Deidara, that infamous Iwa pain training doesn't disappoint at all. I see now how effective it is."

"Pain training? So you can't feel pain?" Obito asked, curious about something everyone seemed to know except him.

"I can, Tobi. But this is nothing compared to Iwa's pain genjutsu."

"In Iwa there is something called 'weekly sessions of pain'. All genin aspirants must take them, until they graduate as a jonin," white Zetsu explained.

"Onoki-sama always treated them like top secret," Deidara said. "Impressive spy work, Zetsu."

"Always!" He replied, flattered by the compliment.

So, Iwa shinobis weren't only dangerous because of their suicidal courage, having such a high pain threshold allowed them to continue figting efficiently until their last breath, even if they were injured or mutilated. That would explain why Deidara was there walking and chatting cool as a cucumber after having lost both arms. Another person in his place would have fainted already.

Thinking about those 'weekly sessions of pain' led him to feel an unexpected compassion for Deidara, while at the same time stoking his hatred for the ruthless shinobi system. Images of a child Deidara under the influence of that pain genjutsu attenuated his ill feelings for him. Madara had entrusted him with an important mission, and it was his duty to build a better world. One that didn't torture children weekly to turn them into war weapons.

"Poor senpai-to-be... If I weren't carrying your arms I would give you a big hug right now."

"I'd rather hug a cactus, hm."

The hint of sympathy he had felt for him vanished. Obito carried on with his act, pretending that those rude words had upset only Tobi and not himself. At least, he thought, his stray eye had actually been the one severing one of those arms, so he was already one step ahead of Deidara.

* * *

 

"Come on senpai, open your mouth!"

The chicken thigh crashed against Deidara's tightly pressed lips. He may have lost his arms, but not his dignity. He tried to bite the arm of his new partner instead. Tobi stifled a scream, flinching before he could close his jaw.

"I can eat on my own, I don't need you," he spat.

Had Pein-sama lost his mind? Why had Tobi to be his new partner?

"Oh, really? Fine then. Let's see exactly how you do it."

Tobi placed the wooden bento box on the table within his reach and crossed his arms. Deidara was sure he was staring at him, he could't see the eye behind the only black hole in that swirly orange mask, but he could just feel it. He didn't like eating in those conditions, but he was hungrier than ever. His body had been badly damaged after his last fight and it was begging for energy to be able to keep going. Deidara bent down to give the chicken thigh a bite, just as Tobi took the bento box away.

"Oops! Wait a minute!"

"And now what!?" He snarled.

"I've just remembered I shouldn't let Deidara-senpai do stuff by himself so he can heal faster. That means it's my duty to take care of you," he chirped.

"Leave the bento on the table right now, hm!"

He should have strangled him in the woods. He had been lowkey grateful to him for having found his precious arm, although in fact the merit had been Zetsu's. Every ring had a spore inside to help the spy locate every Akatsuki member. It shouldn't have been a challenge to locate it.

"That's it, no dessert for you," Tobi said, speaking to him as if he were a naughty puppy.

That was the last straw for Deidara.

"Why the hell do I have to put up with you!?"

Anger boiled in his veins, he got up and cornered him against the wall with a sucession of high kicks that would have made old Onoki shut up forever about his taijutsu level. He missed, Tobi was quick, he'd give him that. And just when he had Tobi against a wall he felt light headed, his breathing became noisy and his vision darkened. He shouldn't have done that, he was still too weak.

"Be a good patient, senpai..."

Deidara managed not to collapse after standing still for a while. After his brief moment of weakness disappeared, he straightened himself.

"I'm fine, hm."

A loud grumble from his stomach betrayed him. Deidara returned to the chair and rested his forehead on the table. He didn't want to see Tobi, he didn't want to see anyone in the world except for Kakuzu. Knowing that he would soon have his arms reconnected to his body made him feel more impatient than ever, if the dumbass kept provoking him he'd regret it, surely he wouldn't like it when he used his C0 right there in the lair. To hell with everyone.

He felt Tobi grab his shoulder and force him to sit down straight.

"Come on, open up. Do it for Tobi."

Tobi tried to feed him again and this time, he didn't refuse, avoiding to look at his mask. He focused on all the art he'd be able to craft very soon. On all those explosions. Deidara had a few ideas already and couldn't wait to bring them to reality. It was something that always happened to him. When he had an idea, he couldn't stop thinking about it until he made it real. As if he couldn't be at peace until he had pulled it out of his head. Deidara despised having to rely on Tobi so much. When he had his arms back, he was going to show him who's boss. He let Tobi feed him in silence, until the voice of his new partner brought him back.

"Tell me one thing, senpai. How do you feel having lost the only thing that you were passionate about in life?"

The question surprised him so much he stopped chewing for a few seconds. It was just Tobi bothering him, as usual. Although using a different tactic.

"Nothing in particular, because it turns out that Kakuzu is going to fix me today and you know it, hm."

"But you could have lost them forever. What would you have done?"

"And I already told you it doesn't matter. It's useless to discuss something that isn't going to happen." He choked, when Tobi forced into his mouth the chopsticks loaded with rocket leaves. He spat them out, coughing. "What the hell is wrong with you, you idiot!?"

He heard him giggle in a childish way, slightly muffled by the mask.

"Right now you don't have them. Don't you feel as if nothing is worth it anymore, Deidara-senpai? Without Sasori-san and without your art... Do you still think life's worth living?" He laughed again, giving his full attention to Deidara, waiting for his reaction. "You have to know when to give up."

For some reason he couldn't understand, Tobi seemed to enjoy making him mad. Sasori always said that Deidara was imagining it, that Tobi was just plain annoying and that it was his own fault anyway for taking the bait of his provocations instead of ignoring him like everyone else did. But in that, he was also wrong. Until now Zetsu's assistant had a curious fixation with angering him. Tobi was a pain in the ass to other people, but he seemed to put a greater amount of effort into angering him in particular. No matter what others said, Deidara knew he was right.

And now Tobi was raising the cruelty in his comments little by little, just to see him lose his temper again. Deidara decided to keep his cool, because deep down he didn't completely hate the idiot. Tobi was a funny guy, who said whatever crossed his mind without having any idea of anything, neither of art, nor of him. But maybe if he answered his question, he would end up understanding his way of thinking. If that achievement was within his capabilities.

"Sasori no Danna was a shinobi, and he lost fair and square. Death is a constant threat when you choose this path. Didn't they teach you that in your village's academy? In Iwa, it's the first thing they say to new students. A speech about the dangers of being a ninja is the first screening process to discard those who aren't cut for this," he said, Deidara had hated Sasori's disgusting vision of art, but above that he had admired his strength and his endless creativity while fighting. Zetsu showed him his last fight, which he filmed from a corner, it was an enlightening vision. He still believed that Sasori went easy on his own grandmother and believed that had it been any other person, them and that Konoha kunoichi would be part of his collection already. Everyone had their weak points, and Sasori, cautious, inventive and deadly as he was, had them too. It was unexpected, but at the end of the day, nothing was eternal and his late partner had finally understood. Deidara had won the argument. "As for my creations, in the case I lost my arms forever, I would have found other ways to carry out my contribution to art. With my feet maybe, with my mouth... A mere disability wouldn't have stopped me, a self-respecting artist can't allow any setback to be the end of their creative capacity, hm."

He said it with a smug smile, to let him know that having lost his hands wasn't the end of the world for him as long as he could keep creating. Deidara would never stop doing what he loved the most. It was an obstacle, that was true, but getting depressed wasn't going to fix anything. He leaned over the cup on the table to drink water through the straw, when a sudden, intense and brief wave of killing intent made him freeze, his heart skipping a beat. Startled, he looked up, all the alarms of his shinobi instinct activating at once ready to face any threat.

But everything went away as fast as it came, and he couldn't help but wonder if he had imagined it. Frowning, he stared at Tobi. They were the only ones in the kitchen. As hard to believe as it might be, it had to come from him.

"Tobi?" He mumbled, taking notice of his tense body language.

His fist was shaking and the chopsticks in his hand were broken, he must have pressed them too hard. The hole in his orange mask, pointing at him, suddenly looked creepier than ever.

That strange behaviour vanished in less than a second to never return.

"Uh... Ha, ha, sorry if I scared you. I suddenly wanted to do really awful things to those who hurt you. My poor senpai..."

"What the hell are you going on about!?"

Something told him it could be a lie.  
His strange new partner resumed the task of feeding him, changing subject to harmless and simplistic topics. Until Zetsu's head appeared on the ground to announce them that Kakuzu was ready to see him.

* * *

Tobi leaned a bit more until his mask was inches away from the stump in his left arm. Kakuzu looked at the idiot out of the corner of his eye, pent-up rage glowed in those pupilless green eyes. Everyone knew already that patience wasn't his strong suit, everyone but Tobi. But if he carried on behaving like that, he would surely find out in less than five minutes. Definitely, Deidara wasn't going to warn him.

The Akatsuki treasurer connected Deidara's severed arm to the stump. A wiry black thread sprouted from one of the seams in his body, moving in the air on its own to unite again what had been cut.

"Amazing, Kakuzu! You're so cool...! I really admire you!" Tobi beamed.

"Stop bothering us!" Deidara hissed. "Don't you have anything else to do? Kakuzu and I are busy right now, hm!"

Not another sign of that puzzling and brief outburst he had earlier. Deidara paid special attention to Tobi's behaviour, but he was again the same dumbass he always was, a bigger one even.

"So mean..." Tobi mumbled, sighing as the hole in his mask fixed on Deidara's torso. "Hey... And what is that tattoo on your chest? What does it mean?"

Tobi reached out to touch it, running his finger through the sewn mouth. Deidara groaned. Had his hands been connected to his body, he would have molded a gift just for Tobi, then he'd shove it through the hole in his swirly mask and make it explode. Fortunately, that wasn't his only talent, otherwise he wouldn't have escaped alive from the ambush. He bent his back and tilted his head, catching his new partner's hand between his teeth and biting as hard as he could.

"Owwww! It hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts!" Tobi shouted, waving his arm to free himself. "Kakuzu-san, tell Deidara-senpai off for being mean to me!"

The arm swang in the air, half sewn.

"Stop moving, Deidara! My technique requires concentration! One more interruption and I leave you like this!"

Deidara didn't dare to retort, he knew where the limit was and needed his arms back so he could start making art again as soon as possible. Frustrated for being unable to have a well-deserved go at Tobi, he gritted his teeth.

"And you!" Kakuzu added, facing Tobi, the red in his eyes had turned incandescent, making his new partner to stop gigling. "If you do one more stupid thing, I'll rip your heart out and shove it down your throat! You heard me!?"

"How violent all of you are..." he complained rubbing his head.

"I don't know what the boss saw in you anyway. He must have been fed up of watching you beg to join us," Kakuzu said. "I would have searched better. Are they so desperate that they can't even replace Sasori properly?"

It was true that Pein-sama wanted to capture all the jinchuuriki as soon as possible, but according to Deidara, he would have expected an equally capable shinobi to replace someone as strong as Danna.

"What I don't understand is why the boss has decided that I have to take care of you," Deidara complained while Kakuzu sewed his arm. "You were Zetsu's helper already, it was fine that way."

Tobi's reaction was an amused chuckle, showing with pride the ring that had belonged to Sasori on his left thumb, as he had been doing every every five minutes since he wore the red clouded black robe for the first time.

"Zetsu already has Zetsu, so if I go with Zetsu we will be three and not two," explained, counting his fingers." But Deidara-senpai doesn't have Sasori-san anymore and that makes me happy because I'm a fan of senpai's explosive thingies. I'm so grateful to those Konoha ninjas for this opportunity to be with him..."

"Fan!? Now you're a fan!? Weren't you the one who said that art is for tramps with nothing better to do and not for a proper shinobi!?"

"Do you want to find out how good I am sewing mouths?" Kakuzu grunted, concentrated on finishing his job. "I'm done. Test it."

He felt the blood starting to circulate again through his arm, the intense tingling he felt was annoying, but it was a good sign. Deidara flexed his fingers several times, satisfied.

"Good job, Kakuzu! It works perfectly well," Deidara reached into his bag, biting into a piece of clay and making a small spider. An intense excitement made him recover his good mood, he would be able to create art as always, which was the most important thing. He even felt suddenly able to tolerate Tobi as partner. "All in order. Thanks, hm."

Kakuzu nodded.

"The other one is going to be harder. Your elbow is missing so I cannot sew it back. I'll try something else," he said.

From the inside of his robe, he pulled out something wrapped in a white cloth and opened it on the table. It was an amputated arm, wrinkled and dark-skinned. Deidara wanted to protest. That arm didn't look good but Kakuzu had agreed with Pein-sama to patch it up for free and his patience was nearly over thanks to Tobi. He didn't want to risk it. If he complained, Kakuzu migh try to charge him, or sell his arm in the black market.

"Kakuzu-san... Are you going to fix my senpai's arm with that other arm found in a dumpster? Why!?"

And there was Tobi, verbalizing with brazenness what he didn't dare to say. Deidara swallowed, while Kakuzu marked and cut the required area of that ugly arm and sewed it to his own forearm without giving any sign of having heard. The reaction seemed suspicious. Was it that Kakuzu had really found it in a dumpster? He wouldn't be surprised."

"This arm, for your information, belonged to a great warrior. I had to haggle for ten minutes with my provider to be able to purchase it at a reasonable price."

"Oh really? Because I think... They have scammed you.

And for once, Deidara agreed with Tobi but he knew it wasn't a good idea to express it in front of Kakuzu. Tobi had just left his blacklist.

Kakuzu's forearm, guided by a tangle of black hair, stretched out toward Tobi, who dodged it with a shriek.

"Last warning, rookie."

After that chilling reaction, neither of them said anything else. Kakuzu finished cutting the elbow he needed before joining it all together. Deidara was worried it wouldn't work, but after everything was sewn together, he could verify that despite having had to patch it up, his arm's mobility and the efficiency of his jutsu were the same as always.

"Don't move it too much during the next twenty-four hours. If the stitches break, I won't fix you for free again."

As his specialty wasn't to amass wealth, Deidara promised to comply with his instructions. He thanked Kakuzu again before heading to the room he had symbolically shared with Sasori. But that due to his lack of physiological needs, he hardly spent time there. The maintenance of his body was carried out in his workshop.

"Wait senpai, you forgot your clothes!" He heard Tobi say behind him. "Remember that the boss said we should spend time together to strengthen the bond of partnership and all that!"

"Tobi. I hardly had any sleep in the last days. We'll have plenty of time to worry about the stupid partnership bond after I rest, " he said, weary.

"But I have a dilemma... I haven't yet chosen a nail polish color and Pein-sama has made it clear that this detail is super important. Can't Deidara-senpai help me not to get in trouble with the boss?"

"That's too personal a detail for me to choose," Deidara said.

"Then I'll paint them matching the senpai's."

"NO WAY! steel mountain is only mine! Nobody else can use it!"

"So... What's your favorite color?"

Deidara rolled his eyes. He didn't have a favorite color and even if he had one he would never allow Tobi to use it to paint his nails.

"Get lost, hm."

"Decided! They will be blue like senpai's eyes."

They arrived at their room at last, Deidara failing in his attempt to lock himself in with Tobi outside, even though they technically had to share it. He didn't know what to make of the fact that his new partner wanted to paint his nails the color of his eyes. Nor could he locate that sudden flattery when that very day he had tried to convince him that without his art he was nothing.

And that killing intent... What was it? The matter wouldn't leave his mind, but no matter how hard he had tried to find any explanation, he didn't have one.

"What about aquamarine?" Tobi insisted.

His artistic side took over, forcing him to participate in the conversation almost against his will.

"That tone is too dark, I would say blue sky is perfect."

Shit... What was he saying?

Deidara had to rest. He couldn't argue with Tobi while being exhausted. He was probably going to win it. In fact, he had already won.

"Perfect!" Tobi chirped.

"Hey, Tobi," Deidara huffed as he went to undo his ponytail and prepare to go to sleep. "You're getting too excited about all this. Focus on making sure we work well together in battle. Since I joined the Akatsuki I have fought alongside Sasori. There's going to be a huge change in strategy, especially with someone of your level, hm."

He wanted to offend him, a bit at least, in an attempt to trigger again what had happened earlier. But Tobi didn't seem hurt at all. Before he could even react, Tobi was next to him. He still hadn't put his shirt on again, and having him so close and so silent was unsettling. Another sign of how incredibly fast he seemed to be.

"Don't worry, senpai, I'll be up to the task."

"I hope so," Deidara said, trying to downplay it.

"Besides," his parner continued, kneeling in front of him and taking his hand.

"Be careful! My arm still needs to recover, hm!" He protested.

"Tobi promises to take care of Deidara-senpai, to share his dango with him and to do everything he says from now on. And will never let any harm come to him."

It was a weird moment, but typical coming from Tobi. In spite of his weirdness, Deidara liked to know he was going to take things seriously.

"Good... But you didn't need to kneel for that."

And just like that, Tobi lifted his mask just a bit and kissed the back of his hand.

The time seemed to freeze. Deidara's face turned red with anger, now it was his own killing intent the one that could be felt.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Two seconds later an Akatsuki member wearing a swirly orange mask ran as fast as he could through the intricate corridors of the lair running away from three white birds made of explosive clay.

"Kisame told me it was an Akatsuki tradition! Help!" he screamed.

In the room, Deidara rubbed the back of his hand against his discarded shirt, his gaze fixed on the door. Unable even to blink. Or move.

* * *

 

Obito's kamui left him in the middle of a forest, where he could release all the killing intent he had been repressing. Birds and squirrels fled the scene when they felt it. He understood why he was angry, but not why the matter was affecting him so much. Deidara's puerile passion for art always bothered him, he wished to take that passion away from him more than ever. When he heard him saying he would learn to sculpt with his feet or with his mouth he just couldn't hold his fury any longer. And the worst thing was that he nearly exposes himself.

Taking big steps, he approached a tree and with a guttural grunt, he punched its trunk, knocking it down with a clatter that altered further the previous stillness of the forest.

"I think someone is angry," white Zetsu cooed behind his back.

"What's wrong?" Black Zetsu asked.

"I've made a mistake... I dropped Tobi's act by accident and I think Deidara has noticed it."

Zetsu walked toward him.

"It's true, it's worrying. Why did it happen?" The white one said.

"Sasori just died! Why did he get over it already!? He was his partner!"

"Earlier Deidara asked us to show him the memories of the fight, he was interested in Sasori and the circumstances of his death," black Zetsu said.

"What did he say?"

"He said now understood certain things, nothing too concrete. It shouldn't even worry you."

But he didn't feel comfortable sharing the reasons with Zetsu, not even when he was the closest thing he had to a friend. He would follow his own path regarding the project in the future, and he wasn't going to like it. Information was power, and he didn't want to give Zetsu full control over him.

"It must be that I haven't interacted with people for years and it's hard for me to get used to it, even more so with an immature hotheaded young man. But it won't happen again. I guess I have no choice but to put up with him until we no longer need him."

Zetsu nodded.

"We always can eliminate him and look for someone else, if you find his personality difficult to manage," black Zetsu proposed.

"No. That's unnecessary and complicated. I'll make sure that today's events don't happen again. His bombs will come in handy. Soon, the Gedo statue will be complete."

And along the way, he was going to teach him a lesson, he still didn't know how but he would do it. When life stopped being kind to Deidara, a ridiculous hobby wasn't going to save him.

Nothing was going to save him.

**Author's Note:**

> I came up with the headcanon that Obito loathed Deidara at first while writing "Let's lie to ourselves" but I didn't go in depth about it. I imagined Obito feeling something negative and very intense for Deidara, not only because at 17-18 years old, while he was paired with Sasori I imagine him being a bit of a brat but also the fact that Obito can't stand to see other people happy and content with the world and the shinobi system because he is not.
> 
> As for Deidara, I had to let him intrigued. He always saw him as that annoying Zetsu helper, but Obito made a mistake and he noticed it. I think that Obito is going to rigorously follow Tobi's role, and one day he'll realize his obsessive disdain has become something else. Maybe he started coming up with ways of bothering him that required physical contact, as part of his plan, but he ended up getting attached to Tobi's persona and enjoying the closeness with Deidara and then *snaps fingers* hatred switched to love. xD


End file.
